Retro Raunch Revisit

MAY 30, 1961: After ruling for 31yrs, dictator Rafael Trujillo is assassinated in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Having first come to power in Aug 1930, he also served 2 terms as President and was one of the longest serving non-royal leaders in the world. Trujillo's brutal regime was marked by state terrorism, attempted homicides, abductions, and his security forces said to be responsible for as many as 50,000 murders (with the majority of the deceased tossed to sharks or incinerated). His most notorious killings are the xenophobic Oct 1937 Parsley massacre of the island nation's Haitian citizens with claims of 17,000 to 35,000 slaughtered (resulting in strained regional relations between both countries still to this day), and the Nov 1960 slayings of 3 of the 4 activist Mirabal sisters who were strangled & clubbed to death by a death squad. Corrupt to the bone, from the moment he first took office after rigged election voting, he seized control of the government by initiating martial law after a Sept 1930 hurricane, was looting the treasury, promoted himself Generalissimo, renamed the capital & provinces to include his last name, organized diehard supporters to recommend him for a Nobel Peace Prize(!), and gathered enormous wealth for his family through dominant land & industry ownership and several company takeovers. As Trujillo cozied up to other fellow oppressive Latin despots and was ostracized by a growing number of Caribbean neighbors, the DR's relationship with the USA deteriorated, economic sanctions were imposed and armed assistance was given to his opponents. When he ceded the Presidency to a brother, he was still pulling the strings and his increasing tyranny led to many clamoring for democracy. With elements of the army having turned against him, Trujillo was fatally shot when his car was ambushed on a road by a group of 7 plotters intent on seizing power. After hundreds of suspects were detained & tortured, the conspirators were arrested and 6 of the 7 men were executed in Nov 1961. That same month, a military uprising finally brought an end to Trujillo authoritarianism and his family was forced into exile having fled in Apr 1962. With direct American involvement suspected of having a function in Trujillo's demise, the CIA denied any particpation but infact had been co-operating all along with covert activity such as supplying weapons & funds since the 1950's.